I just need to get rid of my emotions before I get home, because - you know this article about needing to vent to someone who is less involved in a situation than you? (I’m pretty sure I originally saw it on GroupThink.) Well, I’m really upset about something that actually affects GreenHunk more than me, so I need to vent about it to someone other than him.

GreenHunk has been in Muay Thai class for many years (about 7 or 8). I go occasionally, a couple times a week for the past 6 months or so. Muay Thai can be a violent sport, but there’s a hard-and-fast rule that you’re never to purposefully hit someone in the head while training. Concussions are not a joke. There’s a reason professional fighters usually have brain damage by their 30s. I wasn’t there last night, but some guy (and I’m really surprised by who it was - I thought he was a nice guy) thought GreenHunk had hit him too hard, so he retaliated by hitting him in the head. I guess there was an altercation about it - GreenHunk told him he needed to avoid concussions because he needed his brain in order to succeed in school and in his future life, this guy apparently cussed him out and told him he doesn’t understand the sport or something. GreenHunk was very upset. The gym is a tight-knit community - these people are almost all his friends. Of course I was upset too, because he was. But my feelings turned to pure rage today when this guy and another guy from the gym started posting this bullshit passive aggressive series of comments on Facebook about the incident. It turned into this weird rant about how “people in their 20s don’t show respect and are all entitled.” I couldn’t help myself - I commented that if they wanted respect, they shouldn’t post passive-aggressive shit on Facebook. Then the guy who hit GreenHunk and I had this incredibly frustrating exchange via messages where I was just like, “What on earth? Isn’t being kind more important? Aren’t people more important than a sport?” And he proceeded to basically call me and GreenHunk both weak. So I just gave up and blocked him. But this just really shakes me up. I started going to Muay Thai as a way of overcoming my PTSD from being hit in my past relationship, and one of the things that GreenHunk, and the instructor, told me was that I could always stop if I wanted and community was more important than “winning.” This whole situation makes me incredibly uncomfortable - knowing there are several people in the gym, one of whom is the backup instructor, who apparently don’t feel that way. I don’t think I’m going to go back. It’s always been a bit of a struggle for me to go there - I’ve always had to psych myself up for it because it can be kind of terrifying. Now I just don’t think I can, and I’m afraid that’s going to disappoint GreenHunk and a lot of our friends.

Thanks for listening, guys. I just needed to tell someone so I didn’t make it his problem when he’s already upset enough.